Flying Fortress, Again!
by Pansychic27213
Summary: It seems as though there may be seven Chaos Emeralds after all, especially when one comes with the return of Robotnik's Flying Fortress of Altitude!


**A/N: *bobs head up and down* Oh yeah! *is listening to the commercial while waiting for actual song to play***

**_General Rules I hope you can pay attention to:_**

1. If you're gonna drop me a message or review, please do not use curse words or insult me. I understand if you're joking (or something). It's not that I've exactly got virgin ears (or eyes)- you saw my fandoms list. It's just that, cursing makes you sound poor. I honestly hate it because people can find other ways to express themselves besides cursing. I understand the occasional "Holy Crap!" It's a common exclamation of surprise. But please, don't degrade yourself by swearing. Find other ways to express your feelings.

2. If i use a curse word in my writing, it will almost always be "starred out", like so G*. I only do this because some characters commonly curse, and to make them not curse would be out of character. If a character that usually curses is not cursing, it is probably because they are around children or have deemed cursing inappropriate for the present situation. Please do not call me a hypocrite if I use a curse word in my story and call you out for cursing in a review.

3. I will try to respond to any reviews I do get, but I am a very busy person. Don't flip out if I miss your review and don't reply. I may only respond to a few reviews if I find them especially interesting or thoughtful *hinty hinty*

**Flying Fortress, Again?!**

Sonic and Cyrus whispered over a computer. Sonia sighed, pulled out a file and began to file down her nails. Manic drummed quietly on a chair.

Sonic punched the computer suddenly. Sonia and Manic jumped. Sonic sped out of the room.

"Look, Cyrus, what have you and Sonic been so secretive about lately? It's got him all up and jumpy," Manic asked.

Cyrus sighed and replied,"You know Robuttnik's flying fortress of whatever?"

Sonia became worried. "Yes, what is it, Cyrus? Tell us!"

Cyrus rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again. Then he dramatically declared,"It's back."

Sonia and Manic gasped. "That's some seriously bad news! That's why Sonic's all in a funk!"

Sonia began to pace. Next she thought aloud, "But how can Buttnik have the flying fortress again without a chaos emerald?"

Cyrus sighed yet again and replied,"That's what Sonic and I have been trying to figure out! We think that there may be a third chaos emerald, but it could be something else."

"Have you talked to Knuckles yet?" Manic asked.

"Yes, and the Great Sage Echidna. Neither of them had even know that there were two chaos emeralds. Now a third? It's all so confusing," Cyrus answered.

Manic looked around. "Does anyone have a little spare chili dog money?" he asked.

After buying a chili dog or two, Manic found Sonic sitting alone outside on a log and sat down next to him. Sonic looked longing at the chili dogs and whimpered.

"Don't worry, Bro. I bought 'em for you," Manic laughed as he held out the chili dogs. Sonic smiled and gobbled them up.

"What was that for, Manic?" Sonic asked suspiciously. Manic looked down at his feet. Suddenly he reached over and hugged Sonic. Sonic was very surprised at first, but he hugged him back.

"Now what was THAT for?!" he asked. Manic wiped his eyes. Sonia became worried. "Ummm, you alright, bro?"

"Yeah. Yeah. It's just, I know about the whole flying fortress thing," Manic replied. He looked away at the city. Sonic blushed.

Manic continued, "Sonic, we don't know how many more chaos emeralds there are! The flying fortress is back in all its ugliness and I just don't know if we're gonna make it this time! Knuckles might not help us again, or something might happen to the emerald again. We're more likely to not succeed this time. Robuttnik probably already upgraded the fortress and put the possible emerald on security lock down; this might be the end."

Sonic was angered by this mentality. He slapped Manic.

"I don't want to hear any of that kind of talk. I don't want a sap for a brother either! We're better than Robotnik or Sleet and Dingo! Think of the prophecy! Think of mom! Even if we don't destroy the fortress this time, there are other ways to take Robotnik down! We can get through this," Sonic stated.

Manic straightened up and smiled. "Glad I could cheer you up!"

Sonic thought for a second before laughing.

"So the whole sap thing, it was a trick to make me see the better side up the situation? Clever, dear brother, very clever!" he cried.

Manic laughed again and laid back on a patch of grass. He closed his eyes. Sonic whimpered again.

"Thought you might want another chili dog," Manic laughed. He pulled a few coins out of his pocket an tossed them to Sonic.

"Thanks, sib! I'll go talk to Cyrus an Sonia about the flying fortress," Sonic cried as he sped away. Manic waved.

Manic listened to the grass waving in the breeze and the rhythmic traffic in the city. He hummed a little tune and drummed on his stomach.

Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over him. He sat up and looked at the flying object.

Manic stood up and gasped,"The flying fortress!"

Robotnik's voice boomed above Manic,"Beautiful day, isn't it hedgehog. Well for me at least. For you, things are about to get very ugly!"

Manic laughed,"What, you mean like your face?"

"Open fire," Robotnik growled.

Manic gasped. The main laser beam powered up. It made a high pitch screeching sound, and Manic had to cover his ears. He jumped aside just as the laser fired, but the beam caused something to explode on the ground. Manic was tossed across the small clearing.

Manic slowly pulled himself up. There was a huge gash across his left arm. Manic grimaced and held his wound to stop blood flow and/or infection.

Robotnik's voice cackled like thunder across the loudspeaker. "Fire again, but don't miss this time."

Manic got up and ran towards a small thicket of trees. All Manic heard was a loud 'BOOM!' and part of a scream from across the clearing.

The laser beam just missed him. The blast threw him into a tree. To Manic, everything was silent. As he began to black out, Sonic came over and said something. Manic just groaned.

To Sonic, everything was a horrible nightmare. He had heard the first laser blast and grabbed Sonia. Then they had sped over to the clearing. They arrived just as the laser beam fired a second time.

Sonia and Sonic both screamed at the same time. The explosion was really loud. When Sonic saw Manic, he dashed over, scooped him up and asked him if he was okay. Manic just groaned and passed out. Sonic was totally freaked.

He raced back to Sonia, and she climbed on his back. They dashed to their base. Cyrus bandaged Manic up. Sonic very carefully laid Manic in his bed.

Manic had a sprained wrist and a concussion. Cyrus said that it would be a long time before he woke up. He said that Manic would have a horrible headache for a few days, and that there might be a few side effects.

"What kind of side effects are we talking about?" Sonic asked. He cast a quick glance at Manic.

"I can't be certain, but he might have permanent brain damage. The blast could have effected his eyesight or hearing. Not to mention, he could just go crazy! His breathing will be unstable and at times, he could suddenly collapse. Although, none of that is certain. You should probably get a real doctor out here just to check it out," Cyrus explained.

Sonia gasped. She began to cry.

"Sonia, didn't you hear the guy? It might not be anything!" Sonic restated.

"I know! I know! But, what if there is going to be something wrong?" she asked. Sonic sighed and shrugged.

"Again, I'm not a doctor and I don't really know much on the subject. If one of those things did happen, it might be only temporary until he fully recovers. When he wakes up though, you should probably check him out and make him stay in bed," Cyrus suggested.

"Will do. Thanks again, Cyrus," Sonic said. Cyrus waved sadly and left.

After a while, Sonia went to bed. Sonic was just about to fall asleep when Manic woke up.

"Whoa! Like what happened? Where am I?" he asked quickly. After a moment, he grimaced and looked down at his wrist.

"A cast? When did I have a cast? Owwwwww! It's hurting really bad now!" he wailed.

Sonic perked up. "Manic!" he cried and smiled. Manic continued to shout and seemed very confused. He eventually noticed Sonic sitting across the room.

"Sonic! What's going on? Why is everything so quiet?" he yelled. Sonic's smile quickly turned upside down. He raced into the other room and grabbed Sonia.

"Yay! Manic's up!" she cried. She hugged Manic.

"Sonia!" Manic yelled. "What's going on? What did you say?"

Sonia's face fell. She turned to Sonic.

"This must be one of the things Cyrus said might happen! Manic's deaf!" she cried. Sonic gasped.

"We have to talk to him somehow," Sonic replied as he scratched the back of his head. Sonia nodded. Sonic had an idea and snapped. He sped into the other room and came back with a miniature white board and marker.

Sonia clapped. "I'm impressed!" she declared.

Sonic wrote,"Manic, stop yelling!" on the white board and handed it to him. Manic blushed and nodded.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly.

Sonic wrote,"Robuttnik nearly blew you to bits. Cyrus said you had a 'concussion' and there might be some side effects. We think you're deaf." Manic read slowly and gasped.

"Is it temporary? Or not?" Manic asked. He stared down at his blanket and refused to meet Sonic's eyes.

"We don't know..." Sonic wrote. Sonia took the white board from him.

"We'll get a doctor out here soon and find out, okay?" she wrote.

"Sure," Manic replied solemnly. "Does anyone know where my drumsticks are?" he asked.

"I wanted to hold on to them for you," Sonic wrote. He handed them to Manic.

Manic slowly ran his fingers over his drumsticks. He remembered Ferrel, his "parent" from his childhood, and Ferrel's voice. Then he remembered all the songs he had played with Sonic and Sonia.

Sonia turned to Sonic an whispered,"Manic's really depressed. Maybe we could play him a song or something."

Sonic shook his head and replied,"No that wouldn't work. He wouldn't be able to hear it and that might make him more depressed."

"Well, he could at least play with us and that might make him feel better," Sonia grumbled.

"That's it!" Sonic cried. "We'll get him to play for us!" Sonia thought about this for a second.

She nodded. Sonic picked up the white board. "Hey, bro. You want to play a few beats for us? We think it might cheer you up like how you cheered me up."

Manic laughed softly and replied,"I don't know guys. I don't want to break down the house or anything."

Sonic laughed and gave him a thumbs up. Manic smiled. He touched his medallion, and his drum set appeared. He climbed on his seat and began to play.

Suddenly, he stopped and whimpered. "I can't! Guys I can't! My wrist! It hurts so bad; I just can't play..."

Sonic held up the white board. The message said,"You can do it! You can do it!" Manic shook his head.

Sonic thought for a second. He came over to Manic and took the drumstick from his left hand. He tapped the drum as rhythmically as he could. Manic nodded.

He smiled and said,"I can't hear the beat, but I can feel it. Thanks Sonic." He put his left hand in his lap and played with his right hand.

When Sonic messed up, Manic could tell. There were many mistakes, and Manic and Sonic were soon rolling on the floor because they were laughing so hard. Sonia didn't quite get it, but she laughed along anyway.

A few days later, Sonic and Manic had created a communication system. Sonic and Sonia had worked together to post white boards all throughout their base. One day, Cyrus came to visit.

"Hello Cyrus!" Manic greeted him cheerfully.

"Hello Manic! It's nice to see you back on your feet!" Cyrus replied. Manic just nodded and smiled.

"So, how have things been?" Cyrus asked. Manic continued to nod and smile.

"Okay? Are you having any side effects? The ones I talked about with Sonic and Sonia?" Cyrus asked nervously. Manic continued.

Sonic entered the room with some drinks on a tray. He saw Manic nodding and smiling and Cyrus with a very concerned look on his face.

"Is there something wrong with Manic?" he asked over his shoulder. Sonic looked at Manic again and laughed.

He picked up the portable white board that he kept in his pocket and wrote,"Manic stop messing around!"

Manic became serious and replied,"Sure! Okay Sonic, what did Cyrus say?"

Cyrus turned around and looked at Sonic. Sonic laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, the thing is," Sonic started. "We discovered a few days ago that Manic was deaf. We don't know if it's temporary, but his wrist is doing okay. We do a kind of 'physical therapy' every day by practicing his drums."

"How do you communicate with him? I could teach you sign language," Cyrus suggested.

"No thanks. We talk to each other with these white boards. Let's get down to the plans we were going to discuss. I'll write down what you say for Manic," Sonic said. Cyrus nodded, and they began.

As Manic's wrist continued to heal, there were more problems with the concussion's side effects. He continued to be deaf and his eyesight slowly got worse and worse.

About a week after Cyrus's visit, Manic was completely blind. Sonic and Sonia were starting to become very worried. It was becoming very difficult for them to communicate with Manic.

They were also getting nowhere with the flying fortress issue. They had done all kinds of dangerous missions and tests to find out what kind of metal it was made of, how it might be able to float, how good its defenses are and similar information.

They had found out pretty much everything about the flying fortress except for how it was able to float. The other freedom fighters were slowly sending in more and more reports of Robotnik destroying resistance cities and bases. Sonic was becoming so worried that he paced for hours at a time which was very unusual for him.

Manic had no clue what was going on. He felt like he was locked inside a small black bubble. He could still feel people's footsteps and other vibrations, but he couldn't tell who people were or exactly what was happening.

Manic learned to tell when different doors in the base opened and closed. He developed a code with Sonic and Sonia to be able to tell who was who. Manic would hold out his hand, and Sonic would draw a "C" in his hand or Sonia would draw an "A". This represented the last letters of their names because their names were spelled exactly the same except for the last letter.

Meanwhile, Robotnik had suspected that Manic had some injuries. He had sent a special camouflaged surveillance bot to spy on the hedgehogs. It had followed Sonic back to their base one night, and it had hidden in one of the air vents. It had remained completely undetected.

Robotnik soon knew about Manic being deaf and then blind. He decided that he would send Sleet and Dingo in to snatch Manic. Then he would robotisize him. Sleet and Dingo waited near the hedgehog base for orders.

Eventually, Sonic and Sonia were called out on an important mission. Robotnik signaled Sleet and Dingo. They snuck into the base. Manic felt the door open.

"Sonic? Is that you?" he called. Sleet and Dingo's footsteps felt large and heavy. They entered the bedroom. Manic suspected something, but he faithfully stuck out his hand.

Sleet stared down at his hand for a moment. He leaned over to Dingo and whispered,"What do I do?"

"I think you're supposed to give him a high-five," Dingo suggested. Sleet slapped Manic's hand.

Manic knew that a high-five had no code meaning. He jumped up and ran away, but he was still blind and ran into a wall. He stood up and tried again, but Dingo grabbed him by the back of his vest.

Manic kicked and punched the air. He felt his arm for one of his studded wrist bands and pulled the latch. The wrist band fell to the floor, but Sleet and Dingo did not notice it. They carried him out to their vehicle and drove away.

Sonic sped into the base. Knowing he could not call Manic to him, he entered the bedroom and looked around. He saw Manic's sheets crumpled and messy. He saw Manic's wrist band on the floor. He frowned deeply and picked up the wrist band.

Manic, having been blind and deaf, had a lot of free time on his hands recently. He had come up with a plan in case of emergency and told it to Sonic. On the back of his studded wrist band, he had carved, "HELP!" in messy writing. If he left his wrist band on the floor, that meant that something had happened and he needed help. Sonic had thought it was a good plan.

Now, Sonic thought it was a GREAT plan. If he hadn't seen the wrist band, he might have not known what to do! Now he knew that something had happened to Manic, and that he should get Sonia and Cyrus.

When Sonia and Cyrus finally arrived at the base, Sonic had checked the area for clues and was pacing again. Cyrus made another check, but he actually checked the air vents.

"Ah ha!" Cyrus cried.

"What is it!" asked Sonia excitedly.

Cyrus held up an object. "It's a surveillance bot! Robotnik found your base and has been spying on you! From these vents, he can watch any room in the base," Cyrus explained.

"So Robotnik knows about Manic and took him?" Sonic asked. Cyrus nodded.

"He's gonna robotisize him!" Sonia shrieked in realization.

Sonic and Cyrus gasped. "Well, we know where Buttnik keeps his main robotisizer, so let's go there!" Sonic cried. He grabbed Sonia and Cyrus and sped away.

When they arrived at Robotnik's fortress, they saw the flying fortress hovering nearby. They saw tiny figures walking off a plank on the flying fortress to Robotnik's ground fortress. Sonic gasped.

"Those might be other freedom fighters getting robotisized! Let's do something!" Sonic cried.

"No!" Cyrus and Sonia said at once. Cyrus nodded.

"No," Sonia continued. "If we try to rescue the other freedom fighters, we might not make it to Manic in time! Cyrus, Sonic and I will rescue Manic. Can you deal with the other freedom fighters?"

"Well, I can stop all the power on your signal. Then you can rescue Manic before the backup generator starts. Then I'll disable the robotisizer to give us some more time. Does that sound good?" Cyrus said.

Sonic smiled and nodded. He picked up Sonia and sped away. Cyrus hurried over to the power board. Sonic raced inside.

Meanwhile, Sleet and Dingo just placed Manic in a round white cell. There was nothing in the room except a bench on one end. Manic sat quietly. Suddenly, he had a horrible headache.

"What now?!" he groaned. He laid down and curled up in a little ball. Suddenly, he felt cold and hot all at the same time. He tried to sit up again, but he was in just too much pain.

For Manic, there was a sudden flash of light and loud explosion of sound. For the first time in a week, Manic saw what his surroundings looked like. He saw the smooth, white walls and the bench he was sitting on. He saw a figure in a cloak standing in the doorway. She blew him a kiss and ran off.

Manic jumped and yelled,"Wait! Don't go! Thank you, at least!"

She turned around and replied,"No need to thank me! I love you my child!" Manic gasped.

His cell door slammed closed. He gasped again and sat back down. Suddenly he realized, he could hear what she said! He could hear her footsteps and the door closing! He smiled.

He had no headache any longer and was actually very happy. Then, Sleet and Dingo entered his cell.

Manic pretended to be blind and deaf again. He looked around the cell.

Sleet leaned over to Dingo and whispered,"He seems different. Something's up."

"I don't know, Sleet, he seems the same to me," Dingo whispered back.

"Hello?" Manic asked trying to sound frightened. Dingo came over to Manic and pulled him up.

"Ahhhh! Don't sneak up on someone like that!" Manic cried. Sleet led Manic through the halls and Dingo walked slowly behind them.

Sonic sped through the halls. He stopped suddenly. He squinted and peered down the hallway. He rubbed his eyes. He saw Sleet leading Manic and Dingo to the robotisizer. Manic looked around and saw Sonic.

Manic winked. Sonic rubbed his eyes again and jumped into a different hallway before Sleet or Dingo could see him.

"Cyrus, come in Cyrus," Sonic messaged over his communicator. (The communicators were like texting machines for your wrist.)

"What? Do I shut off power now?" Cyrus's reply message said.

"No, something's different. Manic just looked at me and winked!" Sonic answered.

":O" Cyrus replied.

"I know! It looks like he's recovered now; I'm gonna make sure he doesn't get robotisized before I get the other freedom fighters," Sonic messaged.

"Got it! Over and out," Cyrus messaged back. Sonic raced down the hall and hid in the robotisizer room.

Manic waited until they set him in the robotisizer. Sleet and Dingo stood near the control panel. Robotnik entered the room.

"Well. Well. Well. What have we here? A hedgehog. How excellent! Bet you wish you could see my excellence before you're gone but oh well!" Robotnik growled leaning in close to Manic's face.

"Not today!" Manic cried. He smiled and punched Robotnik's nose. Robotnik screamed and fell back.

"Begin the process!" he wailed. Manic shook his finger and jumped out of the robotisizer. He pulled out his drumsticks and threw them. One hit Dingo square in the forehead; the other hit Sleet in the stomach.

Manic rushed over an grabbed his drumsticks. He slowly walked towards Robotnik. Robotnik crawled away backwards and howled in fear.

Manic leaned in close. "Have a nice day!" he cried cheerfully before running down the nearest hallway.

Robotnik's eyebrow raised in confusion. "What?" he asked quietly. He looked around, took a deep breath and fainted.

Sonic laughed heartily and sped towards the flying fortress. He looked at the medium crowd of freedom fighters. He recognized some, but others were still unfamiliar. S.W.A.T. Bots stood in every corner of the room and guarded every entrance and exit.

"What's going to happen to us?" a small voice shouted randomly. It sounded almost like a child. Sonic was heartbroken.

"Freedom Fighter Number 37, you will be robotisized when Robotnik arrives," the bots said in unison. Sonic shivered. S.W.A.T. Bots sound really creepy when they talk in unison.

Sonic had an idea. He sped down the hall back to the main robotisizer room. He found a certain control panel where a microphone sat. He took a deep breath, pressed a button and leaned in.

"S.W.A.T. Bots, this is Robotnik speaking. Do you copy?" Sonic asked in his best Robotnik impersonation.

"Yes Sir. Awaiting orders," the bots replied. Sonic smiled and tried to keep from laughing.

After another deep breath, he continued,"I cannot come to the robotsizing today. I order you to let all freedom fighters go. Thank you."

Sonic sped down the hall and looked into the flying fortress. The S.W.A.T. Bots were leading people into a teleporter beam and sending them to the ground. The freedom fighters were confused and happy all at the same time.

Sonic did the best headcount he could to make sure everyone got away. Then he noticed a strange looking person whom he had never seen before. Suddenly, the person winked at him, and Sonic realized that Manic was wearing a disguise. Sonic laughed and boarded the flying fortress after all the freedom fighters and Manic had left.

Sonic sped into the control room of the flying fortress and studied the security camera screens. In the second control room, he saw a floating object. After further examination, he realized that it was indeed another chaos emerald. He gasped sped into the second control room.

He remembered that the Great Sage Echidna had given him another emerald cylinder just in case. Sonic pulled it out and put the emerald inside. He sped through the hallways and jumped into the teleporter beam.

As Sonic sped away, the flying fortress crashed near Robotnik's lair. Sonic laughed and met up with Cyrus. Manic walked over to them from an alley nearby.

"So you didn't need me after all!" Cyrus cried jauntily.

Sonic shook his head and replied, "No, we might have. If you weren't here and I needed you, I don't know what I would have done! Thanks for being here." Cyrus waved and went home. Sonia walked up to them.

"Thank for leaving me in front of Robuttnuk's lair, Sonic!" she yelled. Then she noticed Manic. She smiled. "Well, atleast you got him," she commented. She glanced over at Sonic and bobbed her head in Manic's direction.

"Yes, I can see and hear. Thanks for asking!" Manic said with a laugh. Sonia blushed.

Sonic examined Manic. He poked him. He sniffed him. He even pulled one of his spines off of his back and studied it carefully.

"Geez, Sonic. That's some interesting prodding you're doing there. Mind telling me what you're doing?" Manic asked. Sonic looked at him very closing before leaning back and replying.

"Oh, you know. Just seeing if it's actually you. Is it?" Sonic asked. Manic rolled his eyes and nodded. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief and hugged him.

"What happened? How come you can see and hear again?" Sonia asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure, but Mom was there when it happened," Manic said.

"MOM?!" Sonic and Sonia gasped. Manic nodded. S.W.A.T. Bot patrols zoomed by over their heads.

"We can talk about this more at home," Sonic said. He picked up Sonia and Manic and sped back to their base.

After explaining what happened, Sonic and Manic told Sonia about what happened in the main robotisizing chamber and on the flying fortress. Manic made chili dogs for Sonic. Before the triplets went to bed, they played a happy song together.

From the Oracle's lair, Queen Aleena watched her children. She sighed with longing. She looked down at her own medallion and smiled briefly.

"You will see your children again, Aleena," the Oracle said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I know," she replied. She sighed again. "Thank you again for helping me rescue Manic."

"Well, we couldn't let Robotnik get him now could we!" the Oracle cried playfully.

"No. No, I guess we couldn't!" Queen Aleena laughed.

"I made us some dinner. Will you do me the honors of joining me to eat before you leave?" the Oracle asked.

"It would be my pleasure!" the Queen answered happily. They strolled into the Oracle's kitchen.

THE END

(FOR NOW)

**A/N: So this was the point where my endings started to get better... Heheh. Not _good, _but _better._ I feel like my writing was also starting to improve here, so it'll definitely be better soon!**


End file.
